Chapter 25
"James…it really is you…"
James reached down and touched Ayse's wavy black hair. "How do you feel, Ayse?"
She blinked. "I feel…well, I don't know how I feel. I just…feel."
He nodded understandingly. "A natural reaction to being brought back to life, apparently. I, too, am struggling with explaining it."
"You really had us worried, Ayse," Elizabeth piped in. "I was so upset when I found out what you had done."
Ayse reluctantly pulled her eyes away from James to glance at Elizabeth. "It was something I felt I had to do."
Elizabeth smiled and exchanged a knowing glance with Calypso, for both women possessed the instinct to follow her heart, and Ayse apparently did as well.
"I understand." She nodded toward James. "I'm going to go look for Jack and tell him the news."
Ayse slowly sat up once Elizabeth left the hut and turned to James once more as Calypso pilfered at a table near the back of the room lighting incense and mixing strange liquids. Death had been a strange thing to Ayse, for she stopped feeling, hearing, and smelling anything as her life wilted away like a flower at the end of its season. And then after that, there was nothing. Was dying like that for everyone? Had it been like that for James?
"You saved me, Ayse," James said, taking her hand which was now as full of life and warmth as it ever was. "But what you did to save me…" He looked away. "I did not deserve to have you die for me."
"But it had to be done, James," Ayse explained, "and I was the only one who was able to do it. There wasn't any other way."
"I know that," he said, turning back to her, "but you have no idea how upset I was when I saw you lying here cold and not a breath in your body, and yet, my life coursed through my veins once again. I wondered how it could be that you had to die after we came so far." He paused as he tried to control his wavering voice. "And then…Calypso told me why…you did what you did."
Ayse stopped breathing for a moment, and her eyes went wide. She bit her lip as scarlet blossomed into her face. "W-well…I wasn't expecting to c-come back to life…" She turned away from him. "My God, I'm so…"
"If you're embarrassed, you needn't be," he told her, moving closer to her. "The truth is, Ayse, if it had not been for your determination, kindness, and selflessness, I would not be here with you now, and for that I will eternally be grateful. I…would also like to say that my time in the glass and recent events has made me realize what is important and that fate has shown me my heart." He reached up and turned her face to meet his. "It belongs with yours, Ayse. After everything we have been through, I cannot imagine living this new life without you."
A silent gasp escaped Ayse's lips as tears welled up in her blue eyes, and she fought to contain her emotions. James leaned in, his lips pressing against hers tenderly, an act that he had waited for so long to do. Ayse was surprised at first, but then her reserved affection toward James began tumbling out as she reciprocated his affection equally.
He pulled away from her, but his forehead still touched hers as her voice broke the reverie between them.
"Why, James? Why is it that I should deserve a second chance?" Ayse asked, barely above a whisper.
"Because I knew da moment I saw you dat you possessed a love for James dat run deep and true," Calypso said with her back turned. She turned around and looked at James and Ayse. "She pass da test."
James and Ayse exchanged puzzled looks.
"What do you mean she passed the test?" James queried.
Calypso came over to James and Ayse and sat down with them. "How many do you know would really die for dey love, even if dey say dey would die for dem?" She smiled playfully. "It is one ting to say dey would die for dey love, but it is quite anoter to do it. Only one truly in love would give dere life willingly for dere mate. My own heart be a fickle one but after hearing what da girl went troo, I saw that her heart not be like mine, so I tested 'er to see how deep 'er love run. It is a test few mortals be willing to take, and she take it, even dough the price was de ultimate one."
James glanced over at Ayse. "So it really was something only she could have done?"
Calypso nodded. "When you not die for someone you love, it prove your heart be fickle and dat you do not truly love dat person. The loss of life for one's significant oter is de ultimate demonstration of unconditional love, and Ayse's renewed life was her reward for her unselfish act."
"How did you bring me back, then?" Ayse asked. "Who gave their life for mine?"
"No one," Calypso told her, smiling. "You die, but you didn't die. You see, da Water of Life is what bring you back, and you had a body in which to pour it, and I sent James to fetch dat water."
"Why James and not Jack or Elizabeth?" Ayse asked.
"Love is da key in da perpetuation of all life," Calypso explained, "so what better person to fetch da water den da man who love you?"
Ayse nodded, mulling this over. "I see." She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "But just out of curiosity…if James had been with a body and not simply a soul, would I have had to draw from the Fountain and give it to him?"
Calypso stood and smiled at her impishly. "Ah, but you see, dat be someting I cannot tell. It be a secret, but...if you really want to know…I can tell you for a price."
"Actually," James said, putting his hand over Ayse's, "I think some things should be better left a mystery."
Jack fingered a small phial in his pocket as he stood next to the stone fountain and peered down into it. The water inside was crystal clear and glimmered as the sun reflected from it, and Jack mused over the conversation he'd heard between Elizabeth and James. The Admiral's words repeated themselves over and over in his head: It's not where you think it is.
Jack stroked his braided beard thoughtfully as he finally came to the conclusion that the Fountain at which he stood was a fake and the real one had to be somewhere secluded and inconspicuous. He glanced around, taking a few steps as he did. Jack saw nothing unusual, but then he glanced down at the ground and noticed among the weeds a distinct footprint in the mud that, judging by the size and appearance, it did not appear to belong to any of the natives. He squatted down and parted the thick weeds to find there were two sets of prints set into the dirt on what appeared to be a very thinly worn path that lead into a vast thicket.
He squinted his dark eyes suspiciously and glanced around again to be sure no one was following him before making his way down the path, still tracking the footprints. He disappeared into the foliage, still following the path and the clues that James and Elizabeth unwittingly left, and he eventually approached the same clearing that they had found.
Jack grinned toothily at the water, but the grin ran away from his face as a whispy voice asked, "Who goes dere?"
Jack looked over and saw an old woman with a spear in her hand sitting upon a log and looking around. Judging from the cataracts that clouded her eyes, Jack surmised that she was unable to see and probably deaf to boot as well. He said nothing as he scouted the area and approached the pond.
This is the Fountain of Youth? he thought distastefully. I thought it would be…prettier.
As he approached the pond, the old woman stood up, staring in his direction. "I know you be here. Who are you?" she demanded a little firmly this time.
Jack still said nothing, but he knew he had better get out of her reach so she would think he wasn't there. Unbeknownst to Jack, however, the woman's sense of smell, touch and sound were heightened to make up for her lack of vision, and already she was smelling the air and straining her ears to determine where he was.
Jack latched onto the tree that grew next to the pond and used the thick Spanish moss that grew on the trunk as a hold so he could climb up it. Once he got up there, he withdrew the small bottle from his pocket and attached a piece of twine to the neck. Jack grasped the cork and pulled it out, and a slight 'pop' echoed through the forest. He gave a sharp wince.
The Fountain's guard looked up toward the trees, and she brandished her spear, a scowl crossing her face. She sniffed the air again as she moved in a little closer. "I smell rum and gunpowder. You be pirate. Get down from dere, pirate!"
He looked down at her with a puzzled expression. How was it possible that a woman as old as she and blind as a bat could figure out his whereabouts?
Jack shrugged and lay flat on his chest against the branch of the tree and began to shimmy his way out over the water. Suddenly, a spearhead popped up from below, barely missing his cheek. He looked down at the old woman with wide eyes. There was another poke of her spear, and he placed his hand atop his head to catch his hat as the phial's string dangled from his fingertips.
I wish she'd leave me alone, bloody old coot! Jack inwardly complained.
"Get down from dere ye wiley pirate! Or I'll get ye down myself!"
As he carefully scooted out, she gave the side of the branch a whack, hitting his hand hard. Jack pulled it back and shook it, biting his knuckle hard to stifle himself. She began poking at him furiously now, and he fervently tried to dodge every one of her jabs.
"I know you be up dere, pirate," she sternly said, brandishing her spear. "And you be after da Water of Life witout Calypso permission. Leave at once or you be da cause of a horrible fate for all of us!"
Jack rolled his eyes, but a sudden jab to the side made him jump, and he lost his balance. He began to fall off the branch, but he managed to catch himself by wrapping his legs around the branch and grasping with one arm as the other dangled. The phial was in the hand that clung to the tree, so Jack quickly switched hands and began to lower the bottle down toward the pond by working the twine through his fingers. The woman poked him in the back of the leg, and he clenched his teeth. Then he felt a very sharp jab in the back of the leg that caused his bottom to buck up and the bottle to drop the rest of the way into the fountain.
"YEOW! BUGGER!" Jack finally yelled.
"Ah! I found ye!" she exclaimed, jabbing him fervently.
"Stop that! Stop it I say! OUCH! DAMN IT!" Jack shouted as he managed to twist his way back on top of the branch as she landed another good poke. He began pulling up the now filled phial in a hurry. "I'll leave! I'll leave!"
"But you not leave wit da Water of Life!" she hissed, relentless on her assault.
Just as Jack pulled out the phial from the water, a single bead of water slid down the side of the glass bottle. The droplet hesitated for a moment as it teetered on the edge of the bottom before it finally released its grip and fell back into the pond. But what was supposed to be a teeny 'plip' set off a resounding boom and a shockwave that rippled across the ground, rattling the trees and sending birds into frenzied flight.
The old woman immediately stopped and she turned a cryptic head up Jack. "You 'ave damned us all, pirate."
"There is something I am curious over," James said to Calypso. "If the water from which I drew is the real Fountain of Youth, then what is the purpose of the stone fountain?"
Calypso grinned. "The stone fountain is noting but da water to quench your tirst."
"Drinking water?" James said. "That's it?"
"Dat's it," she said. "You may take a draw from dere at any time."
"Then what was the need for fortification?" Ayse asked.
"The appearance probably," James mused. "Things that are highly valued are heavily guarded, but in some cases, the best hiding place is in plain sight."
Ayse smiled. "Ah, I see! How clever!"
Elizabeth suddenly ran into the hut, an alarmed expression carved on her features. "I'm sorry, but have any of you seen Jack?"
"No, of course not," Ayse answered.
James frowned suspiciously. "I wonder…"
Just then there was a resounding boom and they all felt a shockwave go through them. Ayse felt James's hands instinctively grab her shoulders both in alarm and in protectiveness as Elizabeth wobbled on her feet, having temporarily lost her equilibrium.
"What was that?" James asked.
Calypso rose to her feet, her face hardened with concern. "Someone 'as drawn from da Fountain."
Elizabeth and James both frowned, already knowing who the offending trespasser had been.
"Jack…" trailed Elizabeth.
Suddenly, there came a rumbling like thunder except the ground beneath their feet began to tremor causing Elizabeth to lose her footing completely, and she went crashing to the floor. Dust from the rafters of the hut showered down upon the occupants' heads, and Calypso turned quickly to James and Ayse who were helping Elizabeth up while struggling to keep their own footing as the earth shook under them.
"Leave now!" she barked, eyes wide and furious.
"Wait!" Ayse exclaimed, stumbling over to her. "What about you, Calypso? Come with us!"
"Do not worry 'bout me, child! My place be 'ere, now go!" she commanded.
James grabbed Ayse by wrist. "Come on, Ayse!"
Elizabeth clung to the doorframe as she struggled to keep her footing and looked back at James and Ayse urgently. The couple made it to the door, Ayse looking back toward Calypso as she ran, dust and debris obscuring her view of the kind but stern goddess.
They came out of the hut, and they could see fright and confusion written across the faces of Jack's crew. Gibbs was the first to approach them; even he struggled to keep his footing on the violent ground.
"What the hell happened?!" he demanded. Then he saw James. "Norrington?!"
"I'll explain when we get back to the ship, Gibbs!" he shouted over the deafening rumble. "Just get out of here! Quickly!"
James turned and disappeared down the path that led into the jungle as Gibbs turned to the crew. He could hear a large cracking noise as trees began to fall down around them. He looked down at his feet where a fissure rapidly made its way across the ground and between Gibbs's feet.
"Bloody hell, the island is cavin' in on us…" he trailed. He looked up and began yelling at his crew who were scurrying around like harassed ants. "Get back to the ship! NOW!"
And with that, Gibbs disappeared into the underbrush himself, with nothing but hope that the rest would make it back to the Pearl.